Research proposal Bachelor Thesis Organization Strategy

Chapter 1: Introduction

Motivation has become a research topic in relation to job performance. Bartol and Martin (1998) define motivation as a force that energizes behaviour, gives direction to behaviour, and underlies the tendency to persist. This definition identifies that in order to achieve goals; individuals must be sufficiently stimulated and energetic and must be willing to commit their energy for a long enough period of time. Years ago, when researchers started with research about motivation Atkinson (1964) defined motivation as the psychological process that causes the arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior (Atkinson, 1964; Campbell, Lawler, & Weick, 1970). According to Hellriegel & Slocum, 1976; Vroom 1964 this definition was incomplete and they added the component volunteer to it. Hellriegel & Slocum, 1976; Vroom 1964 thought that motivation also depends from the person insight. That is why they added the ‘voluntary’ component to this definition.

Building on Vroom´s (1964) expectancy-valence theory of motivation, Porter and Lawler (1968) introduced a model of intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation. In this paper, questions about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will be answered. Questions that need to be answered are. What is exactly intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? Does intrinsic or extrinsic motivation affect the performance?

To find the connection between motivation and job performance, job performance need to be defined. According to Locke and Latham (2004) work motivation is: the internal factors that motivate work and the external factors that can act as encouragement to work. The questions that need to answer are: How can we define performance? How can we measure performance? How is performance created?

Scientists have found a positive connection between job motivation and job performance (Iaffaldano & Muchinsky, 1985; Locke, 1976). What is exactly the connection between job motivation and job performance? Which factors are leading?

Problem statement

How does work motivation affect the job performance of employees in an organization?

Research Questions

What are the theoretical approaches of work motivation?

Which different perspectives are developed by researchers?

How do work motivation and job performance influence each other?

Methodology

According to Sekaran and Bougie (2009) there are different ways to collect data. The type of research that will be used for this thesis is a descriptive research. This thesis is a literature study which means that secondary sources will be researched. Analysis of different variables will be the basis for additional empirical research. Empirical research will be used because it is unknown which data will be found during this research. By using scientifically papers the data will be found.

Structure

The main goal of this paper is to analyze how work motivation affects the job performance of employees within an organization.

This paper is subdivided in three chapters. In the first chapter answers will be found about work motivation. What is motivation and how does motivation influences employees? The main subject of the second chapter will be job performance. For example questions regarding job performance are, what is job performance, what influences job performance within an organization? The third and last chapter will bring work motivation and job performance together. In this chapter work motivation and job performance will be combined. The main question of this chapter will be: Does work motivation influence job performance and what will be the benefits within an organization?

Chapter 2: Work motivation

As mentioned in the introduction, work motivation can be divided in two types of motivation called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Throw years different researchers did research about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The following chapter will provide information about motivation in general and in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

In the first part of this chapter work motivation will be discussed. The second part of this chapter intrinsic and extrinsic motivation will be explained and how do they affect the work motivation? Finally, the research question, what are the theoretical approaches of work motivation will be answered.

Defining work motivation

The main goal in this paragraph is to define work motivation. During this paragraph definitions of different researchers will be discussed to get a good view about work motivation.

A large amount of researchers have defined work motivation. According to Pinder (1998) work motivation is a set of energetic forces that invent both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration. Pinder (1998) thinks that energetic forces have a great influence on the work motivation of employee. Another view on work motivation is the definition of Atkinson. Atkinson (1964) defines work motivation as the psychological process that causes the arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior (Atkinson, 1964; Campbell, Lawler, & Weick, 1970). Atkinson thinks that the psychological process plays a big role in the motivation of work motivation. The researchers above did research about motivation years ago. More recent research shows that work motivation is ”invisible, internal and hypothetical construct” Ambrose & Kulik (1999). There is a link between the research before 1990 and after 1990. The ”energetic forces” and the ”psychological process” can be found in both definitions.

As said above, motivation can be subdivided in two groups. According to Porter and Lawler (1968) there are 2 different types of motivation called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Steel (2008) also divides motivation in two types in a more recent study. Motivation is a broad concept that includes both extrinsic and intrinsic forces (Steel 2008). Through the study that Steel (2008) has done we can suppose that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation still a current research topic is.

Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation

In the fields of human resource management and organizational behavior, motivation is often described as “intrinsic” or “extrinsic” in nature (Sansone and Harackiewicz, 2000).

This paragraph is to get a greater view about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. What is extrinsic and intrinsic motivation? What are the differences? How do they influence the job performance?

Define intrinsic motivation

The last decades a large amount of researchers did research about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Calder and Staw (1975) argue that motivation is intrinsic if an activity is undertaken for someone who needs immediate satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation “is valued for its own sake and appears to be self sustained”. According to Harackiewicz (1979) Intrinsic motivation is the ”motivation to engage in a task for its own sake and not as a means to another reward”. More recent studies argue similar to intrinsic motivation. Van Yperen and Hagendoorn (2003) argue that motivation is intrinsic when people perform an activity for itself trying to experience the satisfaction inherent in the activity or to secure the social norms for their own sake. According to Steele (2008) intrinsic motivation could include involvement in behavioural patterns, thought processes, action and activity or reaction for its own importance.

As mentioned above there are a lot of different definitions about intrinsic motivation. Through the years researchers did a lot of research about intrinsic motivation. The researchers that did research about intrinsic motivation don’t agree one-hundred percent with each other so a clear definition is not given.

Measuring intrinsic motivation

How can we see that someone is motivated? If we want to know if someone is motivated we need to find a way how to measure motivation. Deci (1971) argue that there are two ways to measure intrinsic motivation. The first way is to measure the ”free choice”. An example for the ”free choice” is do what you want to do and don’t look to somebody else. The second way is the use of self-reports of interest and enjoyments of the activity. This type of measuring intrinsic motivation is most often used for experimental studies (Ryan, 1982).

According to Loewenstein (1999) intrinsic motivation can also be measured in two ways.

Loewenstein (1999) uses almost the same levels just like Deci (1971) does:

”Through a person’s self-report of how interesting and enjoyable the task is”.

”Through the behavioral measures of choice of, and amount of time engaged with, the task during a free-choice period in which there are no extrinsic rewards or incentives associated with choosing or engaging in the task”.

Effect of intrinsic motivation

Researchers have found that a positive effect on your motivation increases the intrinsic motivation. Kraiger, Billings, & Isen, 1989 argue that a positive affect increases people’s enjoyment and interest of interesting activities. Another study found that the positive affect increases the valence of moderately desirable rewards (Erez & Isen, 2002).

Intrinsic motivation does not only affect the enjoyment and interests. It also affects the satisfaction and the performance during working hours (Erez & Isen, 2002; Isen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987; Staw & Barsade, 1993).

Define extrinsic motivation

Just like intrinsic motivation, a large amount of researchers did research about extrinsic motivation. Osterloh (2002) argues that extrinsic motivation occurs when employees are able to satisfy their needs indirectly, most importantly through monetary compensation.

According to Calder and Staw (1975) employees are extrinsically motivated if they are able to satisfy their needs indirectly, especially through monetary compensation. Money is a “goal which provides satisfaction independent of the actual activity itself”.

Extrinsic motivation relates to a wide variety of behaviors which are engaged in as a means to an end and not for their own sake (Deci, 1975). Deci, Ryan and their colleagues (Deci and Ryan, 1985, 1991) have proposed that three types of extrinsic motivation can be ordered along a self-determination continuum. From lower to higher levels of self-determination, they are: external regulation, introjections and identification.

External regulation Deci and Ryan (1985): is behavior that is regulated through external means like rewards and constraints. For example “I study the night before exams, because my parents force me to.”

Introjected regulation Deci and Ryan (1985): is that the individual begins to acquire the reasons of the person’s action. For example: ” I study the night before exams because that’s what good students are supposed to do.”

Identification Deci and Ryan (1985): That the behavior becomes valued and judged important for the individual, and especially that it is perceived as chosen by oneself. For example: “I’ve chosen to study tonight because it is something important for me.”

Affect extrinsic motivation

Research on intrinsic motivation has demonstrated that extrinsic rewards can have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation under certain conditions (Daniel & Esser, 1980; deCharms, 1968; Hess, & Sandelands, 1980). “Stuk incompleet”

In the previous paragraph intrinsic motivation was leading. In this paragraph extrinsic motivation was. During this paper the definition of Calder and Staw (1975) ” employees are extrinsically motivated if they are able to satisfy their needs indirectly, especially through monetary compensation” will be leading.

The extrinsic factors that can influence motivation can include circumstances, situations, rewards or punishment. Those influences can be tangible and intangible. Tangible benefits could include monetary rewards or prizes. Intangible could include adoration, recognition and praise. (Steel (2008))

Conclusion

To answer the research question “What are the theoretical approaches of work motivation?” I first needed to identify the concept of motivation. In the articles I read, researchers came almost till the same conclusion. They all add a ”natural” component in there definitions. A good definition about motivation is the definition by Atkinson (1964). ”Work motivation is the psychological process that causes the arousal, direction, and persistence of behavior”.

According to Porter and Lawler (1968) there are 2 different types of motivation mentioned intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. By Harackiewicz (1979) ”intrinsic motivation is the motivation to engage in a task for its own sake – out of interest and/or enjoyment – and not as a means to another reward”. This type of motivation is intrinsic because people can make a choice of what they want.

The opponent of intrinsic motivation is extrinsic motivation. According to Calder and Staw (1975) employees are ”extrinsically motivated if they are able to satisfy their needs indirectly, especially through monetary compensation”. This type of motivation is extrinsic, because people get influenced by external factors. An external factor for example is money. We can portion extrinsic motivation out in three levels of self-determination. These three levels are external regulation, introjections and identification. These three levels describe extrinsic motivation even better.